Tag: IFSEC

IP CCTV leads the way at IFSEC but did you read the small print?

Reviews all week.

As we go through the week we will be looking at the manufacturers and suppliers that caught our eye at IFSEC this year. Today however we focus on IFSEC itself and how our day went.

Getting there.

It was a bit of an early start, the traffic on the way down to the NEC was  light and we made easy going of it. We arrived full of enthusiasm about what we might see at the exhibition this year and had mentally planned our route round some of the stands we wanted to visit.

Getting in.

The automated check in went like a dream.  We walked into the main hall looked around , got our bearings and then checked the exhibitors map we had been provided with. Here though we had a problem!! I had a bit of a laugh as my colleague struggled to read the stand numbers on the map, no matter what distance from his eyes he tried to hold  the floor plan, he said  it was illegible. He then challenged me to try to read the “small Print” and very quickly I had the smile wiped off my face as I realized that I could not read it either. Were we both getting short sited?? Feedback to the organizers published here .

Arecont IP camera.

Not to be deterred by the fact that we had no idea where we were going we made our way into the show. We chose Arecont as our first stop. The main reason for this is we were looking for a megapixel camera that performed well in challenging light conditions. Arecont have just such a camera. The Av10005 1o megapixel 1080p. They use very clever ways of  getting it to perform at night, this is known as binning. When the camera senses low light it changes mode to allow it to use 4 pixels instead of 1,  to increase the amount of light onto the camera chip. We left very impressed. More on this soon.

Dallmeier.

We then moved on to the Dallmeier stand to take a look at their new video Netbox. Dallmeier have always produced quality goods and the build quality of the Netbox was certainly robust. This one box solution is a hybrid unit aimed to bridge the analogue IP gap and is very flexible. It would be very suited to temporary installations or construction sites. We were also eager to learn that Dallmeier has released Pview 7. This is their main software integration package full of new features. Again we left the stand impressed.

Avigilon.

Avigilon was next. Their range of high definition surveillance systems had attracted our attention. Lots to look at here but the most impressive part for us was the build quality of their Megapixel cameras. No plastic here, the cameras were solid, heavy and extremely well put together. The picture quality was equally impressive especially from the 16 megapixel version.

360 vision technology.

We had heard that 360 vision technology had released a new dome for the show and we were not to be disappointed. A very enthusiastic member of the team demonstrated their new IR dome. It has all the features you would expect and night time vision of up to 100m is very impressive. Light being generated from the strategically mounted IR leds ensures nothing is missed by this brilliantly designed camera. This dome is a different animal though from the 360 dome we have been used to. It is heavier and much more robust. Something we look forward to testing.

March Networks.

March networks were demonstrating the Predator camera or is it the Shield? However it is branded this camera stands out from just about everything else at the show. The auto tracking had been set up brilliantly and you could view the meta data as it followed people around the show .The accuracy was stunning . This camera has just about everything you could wish for and the Predator will be coming out in lots of different versions in the near future. We will be doing a special feature on it later in the month, keep watching.

The best of the rest.

Time was moving on and we still had plenty to see. We paid various visits to Samsung, Redvision, ACTi, Emizon and Paxton. All very interesting and each will be reviewed later in the month.

Home.

Well it was time to go , the overall feeling was one of enthusiastic excitement. All the people we saw had something new to offer and it is blatantly apparent that analogue CCTV is very shortly about to become condemned to the history books.  Standard IP cameras  are starting to look dated with all the emphasis at the show on HD and Megapixel. As the number of pixels and picture quality increase in the cameras the frame rates they can deliver decreases dramatically. In addition the storage required can be prohibitive. Neither of these problems though are insurmountable and in a very short space of time the quality we will see from IP CCTV is going to leave the end user in a position where hopefully they are left with little choice but to upgrade. The future looks bright.

IFSEC 2010 Integrated CCTV wish list.

What’s new in 2010?

What are we at Integrated CCTV looking for this week at IFSEC 2010? We have set this out in our wish list below.

Megapixel camera.

Well we would be very interested to find a megapixel camera with wide dynamic or back light compensation. We know that megapixel cameras do struggle at times in challenging light conditions. We believe Panasonic are about to release their new i-pro range of IP megapixel/HD cameras and these boast this particular feature. March Networks have the Videosphere 1080p that has been recently tested by us and the pictures were simply stunning. In addition we would also like to find a megapixel solution that properly supports IR.

Analytics.

As we know analytics are currently only available in standard IP cameras or with an analogue camera that has been converted to IP via a codec. So we are interested to see the progress any manufacturers have made with megapixel cameras that support or are capable of processing analytics and generating alarms.

IP delivered externally over 100m.

With more external IP cameras being specified, we realize the limitations of trying to deliver IP over distances of more than 100m. Of course we can use fibre but this is expensive, so, a cost effective way other than powered switches would be interesting to us.

Thermal camera solutions.

Thermal cameras are a brilliant solution for external detection especially when combined with analytics. Are they however priced competitively enough to sell?  Several companies are now looking to bring this type of security solution to the commercial market place and we will be looking hard for the most cost effective solution out there. FLIR as we know are the market leaders.

Storage solutions.

Megapixel cameras means massive storage issues , before this type of technology can be used to its full potential storage prices need to drop. As we know many Terabytes of storage are needed and so any company that can supply this at a competitive price could find business taking off this year.

Dome camera.

Auto tracking domes have been about for a while but has anyone been able to integrate this technology into a Megapixel version of their dome? We know March Networks have an excellent version of a megapixel dome surely they are close to being able to give us this feature? Can anyone else?

Dome camera with IR.

Dome cameras with integrated IR solutions are growing in popularity. We did a feature on the predator dome and we know the IR version is out shortly. This is something we have wanted to be able to Spec for some time and has many applications externally. We will be checking out all the dome suppliers to see if they are able to provide this feature at the best possible price of course.

Case study.

Features and benefits of all the products that we think you need to know about will be following on this site after IFSEC. So, if you would like us to write an article on your product or carry out a case study especially if you think it fits into our wish list then please contact us here at Integrated CCTV and we will be happy to help.

ONVIF Standards for IP based security products

ONVIF global open interface standard

CCTV integrators have long struggled to integrate CCTV security products together because of all the different protocols and platforms out there developed in isolation by individual manufacturers.

IP CCTV and CCTV software.

With the growing influence of IP cameras and CCTV software ONVIF have bought together the larger manufacturers and integrators to embrace a protocol that will help form standard platform for CCTV integration in the years to come.

Why?

Well quite simply it makes it easier for manufacturers to sell their products. The installers are not hampered by constantly trying to integrate together several different products that are not compatible and the end user gets a better deal and is not beholden to the installer for the life time of the equipment.

What does the standard do?

Well essentially it looks at the network interface , specifically the network layer and looks to ensure all products conform in the following areas:

Real time viewing

Device discovery

Device management

Media config

Event handling

PTZ control

Security

Video analytics

IP configuration

Future proof.

The standard allows flexibility and does not prevent innovation and of course should a manufacturer who uses ONVIF compliant equipment go out of business then there are plenty of others there to pick up the pieces and most importantly the end user is not left with a system no one else can integrate IP CCTV equipment into.

When.

The first product that conformed to ONVIF was released in August 2009 and by the time IFSEC 2010 arrives there will be over 70 products from 10 manufactures to check out.

Three founder members Bosch AXIS  Sony

The 3 founder members were Bosch AXIS and Sony since then more have joined including:

Cannon

IDIS

IndigoVision

Panasonic

March Networks

Samsung

Siemiens

Texas Instruments

Hik Vison

Cisco

Alhua

There are many others now contributing to this standard.

IP Access control.

ONVIF also have now announced that they will be extending their scope to incluse IP access control products to. With so much integration going on between the two technologies it will be interesting to see what manufacturers jump on board and how quickly they do this.

Conclusion.

Open platform standards really do help everyone in the end. They allow innovators into the market place and give stability to the industry and value to the end user. As IP security products become the dominant force in the security industry we applaud this bold step forward.

External security perimeter protection IFSEC 2010.

External security solutions.

What solutions will we see at IFSEC this year with regard to external security protection? Integrated CCTV have lots of experience in both the advantages and the pitfalls of the different detection solutions. Below we list some of the options and when and where they should be used.

Perimeter protection.

External security  has been around now for many years now. Originally of course there was CCTV. At the time a fantastic deterrent. However as the criminal fraternity have become used to cameras and less fearful of the consequences of  CCTV evidence, the industry has had to concentrate on more effective ways of keeping criminals away from vulnerable sites.

Fixed beams or PIR sensors?

Both have their place, Pirs can of course be vulnerable to environmental problems such as flapping plastic , sunlight issues and wildlife. They can however be used in any position on the site and for blanket coverage are the best way to protect most external stock. Fixed beams are more reliable and stable but they rely on line of site between the transmitter and receiver and on many sites this just is not possible. Even where it is it tends to mean that the customer looses storage space and this rarely fits into line with his operational needs. Fixed beams are also overtly obvious and can be over-come on rare occasions because of this.

CCTV Analytics.

So are analytics the answer? This is a means where by using advanced video motion algorithms in conjunction with static CCTV cameras, security systems are able to generate an alarm condition . Human intrusion onto a premises can be detected with relative certainty. The drawbacks of this are generally related to lighting issues and of course the quality of the camera that has been installed. Most important is  the view we can get from that camera often we need lots of cameras if the premises is large or has lots of nooks and crannies, we then have the issue that too many cameras and the costs rise, too few and we leave vulnerable areas on the site. In addition if we have dynamic stock movements this means scenes can change and the  alarm point becomes irrelevant.

Flir thermal imaging cameras.

Thermal imaging cameras are definitely a brilliant way of confirming an intrusion. They can even detect heat behind walls or in sheds. they are the best way to be  100%  sure that there is human activity within a restricted area. The only real drawback is the cost but Flir the main player in the marketplace have some convincing arguments as why they should be used more and more for commercial security applications. Definitely worth looking into.

Deterrent.

Of course it is all very well detecting an intruder but what is the best way to encourage them to leave site and leave property untouched? Some use lighting or a verbal warning and activate local alarm sounders. This works very well at moving criminals on, no one wants to be caught, so drawing attention to an intrusion though noise is highly effective. Other methods include a central station response to a fixed beam activation , that is we send the signal through like we would on an intruder alarm alerting the central station that the perimeter has been breached.

Off site response.

CCTV monitoring by remote central stations is the main way that most businesses choose to protect their external stock. Once an on site alarm is generated this sent together with the CCTV image to the central station. The image is presented to an operator and if a person is seen a key-holder is called and mobilized to site , In addition the central station can tannoy the site and warn the intruder that they are being watched.

Monitored CCTV broadband connection.

In the past the CCTV images were always sent by PSTN or ISDN phone lines. Now with these being phased out under the BT21CN upgrades most companies now rely on broadband to transmit these images. This is where without serious thought remote monitoring can become unstuck. What if the broadband line goes down? Well Emizon21 IP have the solution to that problem .They are one of the few who can monitor broadband lines properly for failure and transmit an alert via a secondary signalling path to the central station to warn them of  any problems with the line.

IFSEC 2010

So external security has come a long way in the last 20 years and we look forward to what IFSEC 2010 has to offer us this year. We think IP cameras able to generate alarms with on board recording and switched relay contacts to activate sounders will be playing a part but can they replace traditional methods. We will have to wait and see.

ZX55-IP Perimeter security solution

ZX55 Infrared Imager.

The Bosch ZX55 Infrared Imager is a camera specifically designed for perimeter protection. It is ideal where the end user has long fence-lines that would require perhaps 3 or 4 standard CCTV cameras to take in the same coverage and critical information.

Powerful camera lens.

The ZX55 is fitted as standard with a powerful 9-90 mm lens and uses Black Diamond infrared technology for illumination. Bosch claim that with the correct field of view, identification can be achieved at up to 100m however usable images can be achieved at up to 300m making this camera a very high performance unit.

Analytics

If you require alarm event notification there is the ZX55-IP it has all the features we have listed above but in addition has on board analytics . Together with the Black diamond illumination, night-time pictures are excellent. The IR technology  helps eliminate hot-spot foregrounds as well as underexposed backgrounds. Black diamond technology also is effective at reducing image noise, this means better compression increasing storage and reducing costs.

All weather construction.

The camera is designed to perform in all weathers as you would expect and has a rugged design to suit all needs.It has been designed to survive a 250km/h wind loading.

Conclusion

Although the camera is not cheap you would not expect this with all the technology and the specification. It wins on performance and reduces costs because this one IP camera solution can be deployed in place of 3-4 standard cameras fitted with IR technology and sensor detection . Visit  Bosch IFSEC IP cameras for more information on both the ZX55 and the ZX55-IP camera solution.